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Going to Banff

I'm heading to the Canadian Rockies in a few months. Anyone ever been? I want to work on my landscape skills. I'll pick up a decent polarizer. I guess I just want to know if anyone has one of those "don't miss" points of interest I should work into my trip. I'll be going for a week and I'll be staying at this little shack. I'm so pumped to see the Rockies, I'm giddy like a little school girl!

I'm jealous! I've been to the US Rockies, and they're stunning, esp. the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. But I've seen lots of pictures of Banff, and I can easily see why it's considered by many one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Copy and paste the above link for a few millenia of shooting fun. Hopefully you get great weather and if time permits, I highly reccomend Highway 93 (the Icefields Parkway) up to Jasper. It's a long day but if you leave early enough you can get there and back without stopping in about 6-7 hours....with photography time built in figure 9 or 10....but the scenery is worth it!

I could reccomend about 400,000 points of interest, but the area is SO rich with various photographic material that you need only walk out the front door of wherever you are staying, set up your tripod and shoot for half a day.

On a clear day, get your self "up and away" from town for some truly spectacular landscapes. And don't forget your telephoto for the Elk, Deer, Ground Squirrels, Bear, etc etc etc....

I gotta get to work (my real job) now but if you want more details, either reply here or pop me a PM.

Awesome scenery. Been there skiing several times, never on a photographic journey. The Banff Springs Hotel is worth a night or two if you can afford it, it's a crazy beautiful hotel that looks like a castle in the mountains. The elk wander around in and around town always close by. Have a great trip

A good photograph is knowing where to stand.
Ansel Adams

Rule books are paper, they will not cushion a sudden meeting of stone and metal.
Ernest K. Gann-Fate is the Hunter.

Where do you all stand on the HDR VS ND grad filters? I almost think it's easier to just take a few different exposures and blend them if needed instead of fiddling with filters.

I need a 72mm CP for my L lenses but a 58mm for my non Ls, what's the word on the street about using a step down ring, I'd use a 72mm filter with a step down ring to fit my kit lens and my 85mm 1.8? sound reasonable?

I'm totally going to try some panos, thanks for the suggestion Faisal!

I was thinking about the long lens issue more specifically the fact that my longest lens is 200mm. I'm of the impression that it would be best to be using a lens in the 400mm range on my crop body. I guess I might be able to swing a 1.4x tele-extender... maybe.

Jay G. Thanks a lot for the suggestions! That's pretty much what I was expecting to hear. While I want to get some decent images this is a vacation with my wife... so I guess I'll have to restrain my photography side.

TenD, I glad to hear the Banff Springs is a nice place, that's actually the little shack we are staying at. She put me in charge of planning this trip and I have a tendency to go a little over board sometimes. My original plan was to go to Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland for a backcountry mini expedition. There are no set trails so backpackers have to navigate by map and compass. My wife sprained her ankle so I figured we would go for a little luxury this time around and save the backpacking for next year. We're trying to get a few adventures in before we settle down and focus on making our family larger.

I'm trying to decide if the extra cost of renting a 4X4 SUV is worth the extra 350 bucks for the week? What do you guys think?